Printing plate inker



Oct. 6, 1953 c. G. DUDIS Em 2,654,340

PRINTING PLATE INKER Filed July 13, 1951 mvsmons Y 4 CHARLES e. oums ROBERT F. DUBOIS 3 '4 BY 3 I 23 41 56 se 25 THEIR ATTORNEYS Patented Oct. 6, 1953 UNITED STATES PAT OFFICE Charles- G-.- Dudis and-Robert F. Du Bois, Dayton,

Ohio, assignolis -to The National Cash Register Company, Day'tom; Ohio,, a corporation of M ryland a licant-usury 1?, 1951, S-erla't'No. 226,562

a claims. (01. Ils -253:);

This invention relates-to improvements in inking means for printing plates.

This invention is directed to a means to remit printing members such as printingmernbers made of microporous rubber, and particularly ink -impregnated porous rubber stamps of the type now widely used for printing labelsfor merchandise, such as, for example, meat sold at self-service meat stands. The labels maybe 'producedbyan accounting machine which prints various data such as the weight of the merchandise, the price per pound, the total price, and the name of the article. With the exception of the namef the merchandise, the above data is usually set upon the keyboard of the accounting machine; The.

large number of difierent kinds oi merchandise to be labeled makes'it impractical to set upthenames of the articles automatically from a: key board. For this reason, themerchant is provided with a rack of name-whiting plates which can be selectively inserted into the. accounting machine, prior to its operation, to causethe proper name to be printed on the label. To avoid complicated inking means, such as a ribbon, the name plates are constructed oifink-i-mpregnated' micro-porous rubber, and a large number oi?- legible prints can be obtained from-such an ink:- impregnated, printing plate before it"becomcs-nec essary to reink the plate;

It, is an object of the present invention to pro vide a novel reinking means for such printing members.

A- specific object of the. invention is to" provide an ink-dispensing container having an ink pad which can be moistened periodicallyby squeez ing the container, in combination witha movable receptacle for the printing member, which recap ta'ole can be controlled in its movement to direct the printing member into contact with thet'inpis tened ink pad in such a way as to 'control the pressure of contact with. the moistened" pad to most efiectively reink, V

printing member withink. V

With these and incidental" objects invieW; the

invention includes certain novel features of-cone struction and combinationsgoi parts, ajpreferred' form or embodiment of which ishereinaf-ter de scribed with referenceto the drawing which ac companies and forms a of this specification.

Inthedrawing: 7 V Fig. 1 is a side elevation of the reimcersnown partly in cross section to show its interior con-- struction. V h A Fig. 2 is a sectional view taken "on'li'ne 22f"'of' Fig. 1, and lookingin the direction of-the arrows.

or recharge, the porous memberin contact with the-moistened pad, taken on line 3-3 of Fig. 5, looking in the direction of the arrows;

Fig. 4 is a top plan View or the reinking means, shownwith the printingmember out of the device.

Fig. 5 is a top plan view of a part of the mini:- ing device and shows the printing member therein, and is shownwith the lid in chain lines for clarity.

Fig. 6 is a side elevational view of the reinki-ng device, shown in reduoedsca-le.

General description Described in-sgeneral teri'ns,v the invention consists: providing a fluid-dispensingcontainer with a hinged receptacle-at the top thereof which is adapted to receive a printing plate consisting of a micro-porous rubber type member mounted on a rigid plate. The tace'oi the type is faced down! wardly; and, upon rocking the hinged receptacle downwardly, the face oi'the type is brought into. contact with anink-moistened pad carried at the: upper'endofatube projecting into a reservoir of ink. The receptacle is provided with a diaphragm which is pressed inwardly to force ink up the tube and into the pad tomoisten the pad when needed. A stop for the hinged receptacle limits the movementof the printing member to control the contact pressure between the face of the type,

25' with a threaded neck' 23''. extending upwardly therefrom. A cap" screw 21:; screwed on the neck 26,, seals the ink in the can; 7

The top 25 has secured thereto a drop pipe 28 extending between the top 25 and into a reservoir offink 29"; said" pipe terminating near the bottom"- The pipe2'8 provides a meansof" communication between theink 2'9, and the under side. of an inkpad 30 '(s'eeFigl 3), to which ink'is forced by squeezing the diaphragm 31, which 'forcesthe fluid up the inside ofth'e pipe 28' 21116111170 the'pa'd .301 Thus the'pad can "be kept at the desired de= tively, by any means such as soldering, spot welding, etc. The dams 34 and 35 are flanged at their bottoms, by means of which they are secured to the top 25 of the can. Each end of the walls is also flanged, by means of which they are secured to side walls 36 and 31 (see Fig. 4) to form a rigidframe. The dams provide means for keeping the ink in a restricted area in the can, thus preventing leaking of ink outside the desired area.

The side walls 33 and 31 are formed with their front edges slanting slightly inwardly at their top edges, and their top edges are slanted'downwardly toward the rear edges. The side walls 35 and 31 are connected by a wall 38, which wall may be a separate piece soldered to the side walls 36 and 3'1, or, if desired, the side walls and the wall 38 can be formed of one piece of metal. The front ends of the side walls 36 and 31 are connected by a front wall 39.

The walls 35, 3'1, 38, and 39 all have flanges formed on their lower edges, which rest on the top 25 of the can and form a convenient means for soldering the walls tothe top 25, to provide a fluid-tight compartment on the top of the can. A bleed hole 43 (Fig. 4) in the top 25 provides a means for excess ink to flow back into the can. The bleed hole 43 is located beneath the ink pad 30.

The side walls 35 and 31 are provided with openings, which support a shaft 43 between them, Spacers 4i and 42 are supported on the shaft 43, and spring clips l9 (Fig. are mounted in grooves in the shaft 43 to side-space extensions 44 and 45, respectively, of a pivoted receptacle 4%. The spring clips 19 also act tomaintain the ends of the shaft 43 in the openings in the side walls 36 and 31, in which the shaft is mounted. The front end of the receptacle is flared upwardly at 4? to guide a printing member support 48 into the receptacle.

The receptacle 4B is formed downwardly at an angle, as at 49 (Fig. 2), on each side an extent equal to the thickness of the printing member support 48, and then horizontally at each side to a point adjacent the side walls 35 and 31, leaving a suilicient distance to permit free movement of the receptacle between said side walls. Secured to each horizontal section of the receptacle 4B is a plate 50, which plates extend inwardly toward each other so as to extend below the printing member support 48. The plates 50 are provided with fiares 5|, which, together with the flare 41, guide the printing member into osition between the under side of the receptacle 43 and the top sides of the plates 50, thus providing a guideway for the printing member.

The side walls 35 and 31 are provided with flanges 53 and 51, respectively (Fig. 2), and grooves, formed by bending a slidable lid 58 (shown in chain lines in Fig. 5) inwardly at each side thereof, engage and slide on said flanges. Stops 59, formed on the forward end of the lid 58, limit the sliding movement of the lid when positioned thereon, thus forming an enclosure for the compartment formed by the walls 35, 31, 38, and 39. The stops 59 engage the wall 39 when the lid is in closed position.

The wall 38 is provided with a suitable opening 50, through which the printing member support 43 is inserted when the support is moved into position in the receptacle. The support 48 is provided with a locating stud 6i, movable in a notch 62 in the receptacle, and in a notch 63 in the lid 58. Thus the support 48 is located in operating position by stud BI and the notch 32, which looks the lid in position as long as a printing member is in normal position in the receptacle.

The receptacle 46 is normally held upwardly in contact with the under side of the lid 53 by a 'coil spring 65 supported on shaft 43 having one end bearing on the can top 25 and its other end engaging the extension 44 of the receptacle. The

- spring 55 is tensioned to maintain the support upwardly in engagement with the under side of lid 58. When the lid 58 is removed from the flanges 56 and 51, the spring 55 moves the receptacle into the substantially vertical position shown by the chain lines in Fig. 1. The exact chain-line position is governed by the engagement of the support with the inner side of wall 38, as shown in Fig. 1. When the receptacle is in the chain-line position, the ink pad 30 is in exposed position for inspection, cleaning, or other service needed.

The printing member support 48 has secured thereon a micro-porous printing plate iii. Printing members of this class absorb a large quantity of ink by contact with a supply. However, the contact pressure must be regulated. To this end, the bottom of the opening 60 is used as a stop for arresting the support 48, as illustrated in Fig. 3. To further control proper contact conditions between the printing member 10 and the pad 33, the pad is thicker at the point of contact with the printing member. See Figs. 1 and 3, where the thickest section of the pad is indicated at ll.

Operation on which they are stored, and inserts it into the label-printing machine. The cut of meat, such as sirloin steak, is then weighed, and the weight is set up on the keyboard of the machine; then the price per pound and the total price are set up on the keyboard. Then the machine is operated to issue a label containing the above data together with the name Sirloin steak. This operation is repeated as long as sirloin steak is being l weighed and packaged. It is only when the butcher begins cutting, weighing, and packaging another kind of meat that the printing member is removed from the label printing machine and another substituted therefor.

Since many impressions must be made from the inserted printing member after one insertion, it

is readily seen that the printing member must be capable of storing a large supply of ink and that it becomes necessary to resupply the printing member periodically.

When it is necessary to resupply ink to the printing member, it is inserted in the receptacle In some uses, a plu- 5. 46:, and the diaphragm 3| is pressed in to force ink to the pad 30, if the paddoes not already have asuffici'ent supply of ink therein. Any ex cess of ink is confined. betweenv the dams 34 and 35 until this excess can bleed. back into the can through bleed hole 40.

After it is determined that the pad 30 is suflici-ently moistened, the operator depresses the printing member support 48 with his finger, as illustrated in Fig. 3, to rock the receptacle and the printing member around its pivot shaft 43 until the printing member is arrested by coming into contact with the top of the opening 60. When this position is reached, the face of the porous rubber type is in proper contact with the thicker section of the pad. 30 to cause the porous rubber to absorb ink from the surface of the pad. It is sometimes necessary tov pump the printing member up and down. a few times to permit capillary action to resupply the surface of the pad 30 with ink for the printing member to absorb.

Release of the operators finger permits the support 48 to be retracted by spring 65 until arrested by the lid 58, when the printing member can be withdrawn from therece'pt'acle 4' 5. Eyreferring to Figs. 2. and 4, it can. beobserved that the opening 60 enlarges laterally near its upper end. This enlarged section of the opening 60 permits insertion of the support into the receptacle, and, when the support is lowered by the operator, a shouldered section of the support passes behind the wal1 39 to prevent shifting of the support during its downward movement and also prevents removal of the support until it reaches its uppermost position.

The shape of opening 60 also makes it necessary for the operator to fully insert the support 48 until the stud 6i strikes the notch 62 in the receptacle 46 before the support and the printing member can be depressed, thus assuring complete contact of the printing characters with the pad 36, so that the printing characters will be uniformly inked.

When it is desired to inspect the pad 30 or service the receptacle in any manner, the slidable lid is removed from the device, which permits the receptacle to be moved out of the way and into the position shown by chain lines in Fig. 1, as hereinbefore described.

What is claimed is:

1. In a device of the class described, the combination of a fluid chamber, a, fluid-wettable pad mounted on said chamber, a pipe connecting the interior of the chamber with said pad whereby fluid is transmitted from the chamber to the pad, a pivoted receptacle mounted on said chamber adapted to receive a porous printing member when in retracted position, said receptacle and printing member being manually movable on the pivot of the receptacle to move the printing member into contact with the pad, said porous printing member capable of absorbing fluid from the pad when in contact therewith, means to limit the pivotal movement of the receptacle to control the contact pressure between the printing member and the pad, and resilient means to restore the receptacle to original position upon release thereof, to thereby maintain the receptacle in a position wherein the printing member is out of contact with the pad while being withdrawn from, or inserted into, the receptacle.

2. In a device of the class described, the combination of a fluid chamber, a, fluid-wettable pad mounted on said chamber, a pipe connecting the carried by the walls of the housing, a receptacle,

pivoted on said shaft, a coil spring on said shaft having. one end in contactwith the chamber and another end in contact with the receptacle to bias the receptacle away from the chamber, a guideway in the receptacle adapted to receive a porous printing member, a stop in the guideway to arrest the porous printing member when it is located in line with. the pad, said receptacle being pivotally movable on the shaft to move the porous printing member into contact with the fluid-wet surface of the pad to enable the porous printing member to absorb fluid from the pad, and means to control the contact pressure betweenthe pad and the porous printing member.

3 Ina device of the, class described, the combination of a fluid chamber, a fluid-wettable pad mounted on said chamber, a pipe connecting the interior of the chamber with said pad whereby fluid is transmitted from the chamber to the pad, a housing mounted on the fluid chamber, a shaft carried by the walls of the housing, a receptacle pivoted on said shaft, a coil spring on said shaft having one end in contact with the chamber and another end in contact with the receptacle to biasv the receptacle away from the chamber, a guideway in the receptacle adapted to receive a porous printing member; a stop in the guideway to arrest the porous printing member when it is located in line with the pad, said receptacle being pivotally movable on the shaft to move the porous printing member into contact with the fluid-wet surface of the padto enable the porous printing member to absorb fluid from the pad, means to control the contact pressure between the pad and the porous printing member, and a removable lid for the housing to render the receptacle and the pad accessible for servicing.

4. In a device of the class described, the combination of a fluid chamber, a fluid-wettable pad mounted on said chamber, a pipe connecting the interior of the chamber with said pad whereby fluid is transmitted from the chamber to the pad, a housing mounted on the fluid chamber, a shaft carried by the walls of the housing, a receptacle pivoted on said shaft, a coil spring on said shaft having one end in contact with the chamber and another end in contact with the receptacle to bias the receptacle away from the chamber, a guideway in the receptacle adapted to receive a porous printing member, a stop in the guideway to arrest the porous printing member when it is located in line with the pad, said receptacle being pivotally movable on the shaft to move the porous printing member into contact with the fluid-wet surface of the pad to enable the porous printing member to absorb fluid from the pad, means to control the contact pressure between the pad and the porous printing member, a plurality of dams surrounding the pad to restrict flow of fluid away from the pad, and an opening in the chamber within the confines of the dams to drain excess fluid into the chamber.

5. In a device of the class described, the combination of a fluid chamber, a fluid-wettable pad mounted on said chamber, a pipe connecting the interior of the chamber with said pad whereby fluid is transmitted from the chamber to the pad, a pivoted receptacle mounted on said chamber adapted to receive a porous printing member having a reduced portion, said receptacle and printing member being manually movable on the 7 a pivot of the receptacle to move the printing member into contact with the pad, said porous printing member capable of absorbing fluid from the pad when in contact therewith, means to limit the pivotal movement of the receptacle to control the contact pressure between the printing member and the pad, a housing for the receptacle mounted on the fluid chamber, and an opening in the housing through which the porous printing member can be inserted when the porous printing member is inserted into the receptacle, said opening being wider at the point of insertion of the porous printing member and narrower below such point whereby the housing maintains the porous printing member in proper alinement in the receptacle when the printing member is moved into contact with the pad, and said narrower section of the opening preventing withdrawal of the porous printing member until the printing member is restored adjacent the wider section of said opening.

6. In a device of the class described, the combination of a fluid chamber, a fluid-wettable pad mounted on said chamber, a pipe connecting the interior of the chamber with said pad whereby fluid is transmitted from the chamber to the pad, a pivoted receptacle mounted on said chamber adapted to receive a porous printing memher having a shoulder, said receptacle and. porous printing member being manually movable on the pivot of the receptacle from an original position to move the printing member into contact with the pad, said porous printing member capable of absorbing fluid from the pad when in contact therewith, means to limit the pivotal movement of the receptacle to control the contact pressure between the porous printing member and the pad, resilient means to restore the receptacle to said original position upon release thereof, to thereby maintain the receptacle in a position wherein the porous printing member is out of contact with the pad while being withdrawn from, or inserted into, the receptacle, and a housing for the receptacle having an opening therein adapted to coact with the porous printing member, a slot therein in which the printing member moves, said shoulder on the printing member movable behind the walls of the slot to lock the printing member in the housing at any position other than said retracted position.

CHARLES G. DUDIS. ROBERT F. DU BOIS.

References Cited in the file ofthis patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 2,413,652 Pollock Dec. 31, 1946 2,536,541 Elliott Jan. 2, 1951 

